Wall structure



H. E. MARKS WALL STRUCTURE Oct. 6, 1936.

Filed oct. 15, 1955 IL Il INVENTOR.

BY (f7/1mm /mham @@Q WIT/VESSES ATTORNEYA.

Patented oct. 6, 1936 UNITED STATESg PATENT OFFICE 9 Claims.

This invention relates to walls, and more particularly to partition Walls. This invention is another species of the invention disclosed in my patent application Serial No. 749,584, filed October 23, 1934, patented Feb. 11, 1936, Patent No. 2,030,217.

It is among the objects of this invention to provide a wall which is quickly and easily erected, which is strong and durable, which is highly resistant to cracking and buckling, which has unbroken surfaces, which requires only lone coat of plaster, and in which the joints are strong and tight.

The preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing in which Fig. 1 is a fragmentary side elevation of a wall; Fig. 2 is an enlarged plan view taken on the line II--II of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a transverse vertical section taken on-the line III-III of Fig. 2; Fig. 4 is a perspective view of one of the clips by which the wall facings are. connected; and Fig. 5 is a perspective view of one of the slabs from which. the wall facings are formed.l l

' Referring to the drawing, a wall facing I is disposed in upright position against each side of horizontally spaced vertical studding 2, each facing being formed from a plurality' of verticallysuperimposed slabs 3. Each of the 'slabs is formed of at least three wall boards, preferably three paper-faced plaster boards ll, 5, and 6, fastened face to face. It is preferred to fasten these boards together by a strong adhesive, the several paper faces of the boards giving considerable strength to the slab. Tojprovide means forfquickly'and securely connecting together the slabs in each facing, the inner board 5 of each slab is offset in twodirectio-nsrelative to the two outer boards whereby tongues 'I and 8 are formed along two meeting edges of the slab and grooves 9 and I0 are provided in the remaining two edges thereof as shown in Fig. 5. v

The wall faoings'arel erected by assembling slabs 3 preferably in staggered relation with end tongue 'I of one slab projecting into end groove 9 of Aan adjoining slab in the saine row, andrwith groove vlil in the'top of each slab receiving portions of depending tongues 8 on the bottom of two superimposed slabs.r The tongues on the bottoms of the slabs in the bottom row are cut off before those slabs are placed in position, because there are no grooves into which they can project. A,

To hold the two facings I upright against studding 2 they are connected together by a plurality ofv connecting members, preferably metal clips II (Fig. 4) made of thin sheet metal disposed at spaced intervals along the edges of the slabs. Each clip spans the gap between adjacent parallel slabs in the two facings and extends across the edges of boards 6 where its ends are disposed (Cl. 'l2-46) at right angles to its body to form flanges I2 which project into the grooves in those adjacent slabs and engage the side faces of boards 6 on the inner sides of the slab grooves. The clips are disposed along both the vertical and the hori- Zontal edges of the slabs, although in case it is desired to stagger the vertical joints in one wall facing relative to those in the opposite facing, clips II would of course be omitted along the vertical edges of the slabs.

Each clip is also provided with means, such as side ilanges I3, for holding the facings a predetermined uniform distance apart. As shown in Figs. 2 and 3, these side flanges extend from one facing to the other with their opposite ends in engagement with the inner surfaces of the two facings, whereby the facings are spaced apart a distance equal to the length of flanges I3.

Clips I I are positioned along the edge-s of a slab beforethe adjoining slabs are placed in position, end flanges I2 of the clips being so thin that they do not obstruct the slab grooves enough to pro- Vent the tongues of adjoining slabs from being forced into the grooves as the wall is erected. As shown in Fig. 1, the clips are all disposed between the studding and free of it, and the facings are not connected to the studding in any other manner, so that movements of the studding in the plane of the wall due to settling and the like are not transmitted t0 the wall facings and therefore do not crack or buckle them. Just prior to mounting each slab in position its edges are coated with an adhesive by which the slabs in each facing are cemented together and their joints sealed.

A wall constructed in accordance with this invention can be quickly and easily erected by mere- 1y assembling the clips and slabs against the studding. The wall is strong because all of the joints between the slabs are tongue and groove joints that are bonded by adhesive. Although the two facings are connected together by clips free of the studding so that they will not be injured by movements of the studding, the ends of the clips do not project beyond the outer surfaces of the facingswhere they would have to be coveredby plaster. Instead, they are concealed in the facings so that the' outer surfaces of the facings are unbroken. The result is that a single coat ofplaster is suflicient for the entire wall. The joints between the slabs, in addition to being tight and rigid, are highly resistant to infiltration of air which sometimes leaves a light line of dust along the joints.

According to the provisions of the patent statutes, IV have explained the principle and construction of my invention and have illustrated and described what I now consider to represent its best embodiment. However, I desire to have it understood that, within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically illustrated and described.

I claim:

l. A wall comprising a plurality of vertically superimposed slabs forming `two wall facings spaced apart horizontally, each of said slabs being formed of at least three wall boards fastened together face to face, an inner one of saidboards being offset relative to the outer boards to forrn a tongue at one edge of the slab :and a groove in the opposite edge thereof for receiving the tongue of an adjoining slab, and means spanning the gap between adjacent parallel slabs in said facings and having end portions projecting into said grooves in said adjacent slabs for connecting said facings together.

2. A wall comprising a plurality of vertically superimposed slabs forming two wall facings spaced apart horizontally, each of said slabs being formed of three wall boards fastened together face to face, the inner one of .said boards being offset relative to the two youter boards to form a tongue at one edge of the slab and 'a groove in the opposite edge thereof for receiving the tongue of an adjoining slab, and a clip spanning the gap between adjacent parallel slabs in said facings and having end flanges projecting into said grooves in said adjacent slabs for connecting said facings together.

3. A wall comprising a plurality of vertically superimposed slabs forming two wall facings spaced apart horizontally, each of said slabs Vbeing formed of three wall boards fastened tgether face to face, the inner one of said boards being offset relative to the two outer boards to form a tongue at one edge of the slab and a groove in the opposite edge thereof for receiving the tongue of an adjoining slab, and a clip spanning the gap between adjacent parallel slabs in said facings and having end flanges projecting into said grooves in said adjacent slabs for connecting said facings together, said .clip also having portions engaging the inner faces of said adjacent slabs for spacing said facings a predetermined distance apart.

4. A wall comprising a plurality of vertically superimposed slabs forming two wall facings spaced apart horizontally, each of said slabs being formed of three wall boards fastened together face to face, the inner one of said boards being oifset relative to the two outer boards to form a tongue at one edge of the slab and a groove in the opposite edge thereof for receiving the tongue of an adjoining slab, and a clip spanning the gap between adjacent parallel slabs in said facings and having end flanges projecting into said grooves in said adjacent slabs for connecting said facings together, said clip alsohaving a side liange the ends of which engage the inner surfaces of said adjacent slabs for .spacing said facings apart.

5. A wall comprising a plurality of vertically superimposed slabs forming two wall facings spaced apart horizontally, each of said slabs being formed of three wall boards fastened together face to face, the inner one of said boards being offset in two directions relative Yto the two outer boards to form tongues along two meeting edges of the slab and grooves in the remaining two edges thereof for receiving the tongues of adjoining slabs, and means Vspanning the gap being offset in two directions relative to the two -outer boards to form tongues along two meeting edges of the slab and grooves in the remaining two edges thereof for receiving the tongues of adjoining slabs, and a plurality of clips spanning the gap between adjacent parallel slabs i-n said facings and havingend flanges projecting into said grooves in said adjacent slabs for connecting said facings together, each of said clips also having side 'flanges the Vopposite ends of which 'engage the inner `surfaces of said adjacent slabs for spacing said facings apart.

7. Awall comprising vertical studding spaced apart horizontally, a plurality of vertically superimposed slabs forming 'two wall facings positioned on the opposite sides of and enclosing said studding, each of said slabs being formed of three wall -boards fastened together face to face, the inner one of said boards being offset relative Ato the two outer boards to form a tongue at yone edge of the slab and a groove in the opposite edge thereof for receiving the tongue of an adjoining slab, and means disposed between and free from said studding and spanning the gap between adjacent parallel slabs in said facings, said means having end portions projecting into said grooves Yin said adjacent slabs for connecting said facings together and holding them upright against the studding.

8. A wall comprising a plurality of vertically superimposed slabs for-ming two wall facings spaced apart horizontally, each of said slabs being formed of three paper-faced plaster boards cemented together face to face, the inner one of said boards being offset in two directions relative to the two outer boards to form tongues along two meeting edges of the slab and grooves in the remaining two edges thereof for receiving the tongues of adjoining slabs, and means spanning the lgap between adjacent parallel slabs in said facings and having end portions projecting into said grooves in said adjacent slabs for connecting said facings together.

9. A wall comprising a plurality of vertically superimposed slabs forming two wall facings spaced apart horizontally, each of said slabs being formed of three paper-faced plaster'boards cemented together face to face, the inner one of said boards being offset in two directions relative to the two outer boards to form tongues along two meeting edges of the slab and grooves in the remaining two edges thereof for receiving the tongues of adjoining slabs, means spanning the gap between adjacent parallel slabs in said facings and having end portions projecting into said grooves in said adjacent slabs for connecting said facings together, and adhesive disposed between the tongues and grooves of adjoining slabs for cementing the slabs in each facing togather.

HERBERT E. MARKS. 

